Chapter 205 - 89: Catching the "Snake" (Part 2)

If only everything were really that simple.

He wished he could live such a simple student life, too—running up the mountain with his buddies for a snowball fight. Local legends spoke of a mysterious girl and a fox who appeared randomly on the mountain. Encountering them would be like finding a lucky four-leaf clover in a boundless meadow while playing on a hillside. He'd be so content, he was sure his sleep that night would be sweet.

But sadly, reality could never be that pure.

Zhang Shutong shook his head.

He once again recalled the scene he'd witnessed in the forbidden zone yesterday.

Since she had run off immediately, it meant he absolutely couldn't find out what she was doing. He hadn't brought it up because they were mutually suspicious of each other. The slightest misunderstanding could breed even graver doubt—a doubt that was nearly uncontrollable, hinging on something as precarious as a tone of voice or a fleeting expression.

So he decided to wait.

Perhaps the outcome would determine how today would unfold.

Now, his guard had lowered somewhat, and Lu Qinglian's attitude had begun to soften.

As far as Zhang Shutong was concerned, the opportunity might have finally arrived.

He watched the girl stroking the fox, and his body, which had already started to rise, sank back down slowly, in disbelief.

Because, to be precise, it wasn't that the opportunity had arrived.

Rather, something far more startling was happening right before his eyes.

It made Zhang Shutong's heart seem to slow for a beat.

...

The fox had lost an ear. The wound had scabbed over, and you could still see dried blood.

That was to be expected. It hadn't been long since the injury. Today was Friday; the poachers had been caught on Wednesday. The injury had most likely happened that same day.

So the fox's wound hadn't healed yet.

One couldn't expect a wild fox to be particularly smart. It just nuzzled its head affectionately against Lu Qinglian's sleeve. Perhaps the scabbed wound was itchy, or perhaps there was another reason, but it soon split open again. A faint bloodstain appeared on Lu Qinglian's cyan robe, standing out starkly.

The girl gently pushed its head away.

But the fox wouldn't give up and relentlessly rubbed against her again.

It was the first time Zhang Shutong had seen a helpless expression on her face. The girl rolled up one sleeve, bunching up her robe and sweater so she wouldn't have to worry about getting her clothes dirty.

The forearm she revealed was like a work of art. Every line was smooth and soft, every inch of skin a flawless, porcelain white.

Zhang Shutong stared, mesmerized. For the first time, he truly understood what it meant for someone to be perfectly proportioned.

And yet, there was one single imperfection.

On this exquisite work of art.

There was something glaring, impossible to ignore—

It was marred by a birthmark.

Zhang Shutong saw a coin-sized, crimson mark on Lu Qinglian's arm.

Maybe a birthmark.

An oval.

An oval-shaped... birthmark.

What kind of mark it was didn't really matter.

What mattered was...

...that it was an oval.

An oval... one that had always left him clueless.

Guessing and guessing.

And had even carved onto his own arm—

An oval.

Cyan Snake.

A small figure.

A circle...

Cyan Snake,

Temple Priestess.

Birthmark...

Cyan Snake, Temple Priestess, birthmark.

—Lu Qinglian.

Lu Qinglian teased the fox with her bare arm. Her movements were nimble, coaxing the little creature to leap up and down, yet it could never quite reach her. The corner of her lips curved into a faint smile. It was a gentle smile, different from her previous playful or cryptic ones, however slight it might have been.

Meanwhile, her other hand reached into her robe, pulling an object from an inner pocket.

Zhang Shutong was sitting on the stone steps below, not far from them, so he could easily see what it was.

It was a red, stick-shaped object.

He recognized it. They'd bought it not long ago.

From the small shop at the foot of the mountain.

A ham sausage.

A ham sausage...

The dog that was so easily poisoned.

Wariness.

Very fierce.

Affinity.

The villa.

The photograph.

Were the person who smashed the flowerpot and the one who poisoned the dog the same?

Creating a disturbance and silencing a disturbance are contradictory.

Someone wanted to stop the development of the island.

The disheveled figure that suddenly appeared in the forbidden zone.

She was crouching by the shore.

Suddenly vanished.

His previous deductions.

Maybe they were all wrong.

Zhang Shutong just stood up wordlessly.

...

After eating the ham sausage, the fox ran off. The girl in the cyan robe stood in place, watching it happily disappear into the distance.

After she rolled her sleeve back down, the boy in the scarf walked over to her and asked:

"Is that red thing a birthmark?"

"Yeah. It's ugly."

"It's fine," Zhang Shutong said simply. "We should go."

This time, he took the initiative and walked ahead of her, leading the way.

He was walking slowly, veering to the front and to the right.

Zhang Shutong knew what was in a small grove to the front right, next to the third tree from the left.

"I have another question," he said suddenly. "Yesterday on the rooftop, you were so standoffish. Why are you acting like a completely different person today?"

"I heard you and your friends talking about the commercial street. It just so happens I was also a little interested."

'Of course.'

'Wrong.'

'Maybe everything was wrong.'

'He'd been misled by the information from Ruoping and Du Kang.'

'Maybe on the "cold-blooded line," he and Lu Qinglian were never allies fighting side by side.'

'And there was never any "betrayal" or "sudden hostility."'

'Graduation season is in the summer.'

'Summer is short-sleeve season.'

'Arms are exposed.'

'Why would he leave those three tattoos?'

'The circle is the killer's sign.'